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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Mike Lee Defeats Bob Bennett

Outstanding news. Bob Bennett just suffered his first defeat in the Utah race.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett has suffered his first defeat of any kind in his hotly contested inter-party race for re-election.At Friday night’s Cache County Republican Lincoln Day dinner, Bennett, who is finishing his third term as a senator from Utah, failed to get 40 percent of the 255 votes cast in a straw poll.Bennett received 97 votes, finishing in second place to Mike Lee, who had 102. Tim Bridgewater finished third in the poll with 44 votes, Merrill Cook received six votes, Cherilyn Eagar had five and one vote was cast for no particular candidate.The vote is symbolic in that at the Utah Republican Convention, a candidate needs 60 percent of the vote to skip a primary election. 62 percent of the votes cast Friday night were not for Bennett.